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02 August 2007 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7284 / Categories: Features , Constitutional law
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A rap on the knuckles

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The government’s mismanagement of the new Ministry of Justice shows it has learnt little from earlier mistakes, says Professor Michael Zander QC

The government got a proper kicking last week from both the House of Lords Constitution Committee and the House of Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee on the establishment of the new Ministry of Justice (MoJ). No doubt to maximise their impact, both reports were published on the same day (26 July 2007).

The House of Commons committee report, The Creation of the Ministry of Justice, 6th report, HC 466 (HC), was limited to just that one topic. The report of the House of Lords committee, Relations Between the Executive, the Judiciary and Parliament, 6th report, HL 151 (HL), goes much wider. The Lords inquiry began in autumn last year. Its purpose was to identify points of friction in the relationship between government, the judges and Parliament since the Constitutional Reform Act 2003 (CRA 2003) and the Concordat agreed by the lord chancellor and the lord chief justice.

The establishment of the

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NLJ this week: No such thing as a ‘Welsh seat’
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
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NLJ this week: Crypto fightback offers ‘new frontier for law’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
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After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
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Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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